‘The Odyssey’ Was Made for Imax 70mm. Good Luck Watching It That Way

The film 'The Odyssey' is the first feature shot entirely on Imax 70mm film, but very few theaters are equipped to show it in its intended format. The article explores the technical differences between true Imax 70mm and the more common digital Imax formats.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing gap between premium cinematic experiences and the diluted digital versions offered by major theater chains.
While Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic is available on thousands of screens around the world, there are only 41—including 25 in the US—that can offer it in full Imax 70mm glory. Many of those are sold out for weeks. Levels of FOMO are off the charts.
That’s partly because The Odyssey is the first feature film shot entirely on Imax film with Imax cameras. For the uninitiated, the Imax film format takes an already large 65-mm film negative and runs it through the camera horizontally, resulting in an image 15 perforations wide compared to the standard 5 perf. When projected on a giant Imax screen, the resulting image, with a squarish aspect ratio of 1.43:1, is enormous and incredibly sharp, creating a far more immersive experience than standard cinema offerings. This is real Imax, according to fans of the format, which was first introduced in 1970.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in